Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has reiterated that the push for reparations is a matter of justice, not charity, for the descendants of enslaved Africans.
Speaking at a recent Caricom leaders’ summit, Browne said enslaved people were never compensated for their labour, and the wealth they generated was used to develop Europe and North America, leaving Caribbean nations without key institutions.
“We must fight for justice,” he said, citing the lack of hospitals, schools and infrastructure that followed centuries of exploitation.
Caribbean leaders have united in support of Jamaica’s formal petition to King Charles, which Prime Minister Andrew Holness described as a “watershed moment” for the global reparations movement.
The petition urges the King to seek legal advice from the UK Privy Council on whether the forced transport of Africans to Jamaica amounted to a crime against humanity.
If affirmed, Holness said, the UK would be legally obliged to provide reparations to Jamaica and its people.
